Speech #650315370

I know in the State of Montana that homesteaders and other publicland entrymen have had their affairs 1918. .:... attended to in a manner which. in the main. is highly satisfactory. which has been generally fairly expeditious. and as a rule without any useless red tape or technicalities in the administration of the law. and I believe that the publicland affairs of the State of Montana and of all the Western States are now in a better condition and for some years have been better administered than for many years previous. I know that under the administration of Secretary Lane the State of Montana has had made within its borders about onethird of all the publicland entries of the United States each year for a number of years past. and I have had very little complaint about the administration of the publicland laws. I have had but very little complaint of delay in administration. and of the thousands and thousands of homesteaders and other publicland entrymen who within the last seven or eight years have come into Montana. constituting a perfect stream of immigration and new homemakers in that State. I have had comparatively few complaints of injustice or delay or complaints upon any other ground about the administration of the publicland laws. I believe that Montana is only typical of the other Western States in that respect.